Flow meters are used to measure the consumption of a metered fluid flow, such as the consumption of metered gas and water. In another application, flow meters may be installed along a fluid infrastructure, such as water lines, to detect leaks. Helpfully, these flow meters can prevent catastrophic damage from small leaks that go undetected for long periods.
With the advent of the Internet of Things, there is now a desire to couple flow meters to a network or to the Internet. So called “smart meters” are additionally able to communicate periodic readings of fluid flow over the network. Such readings must be accurate and transmission of consumption readings need only be performed periodically.
Since each smart flow meter is typically battery powered, power consumption may be an issue for some applications. In applications where a large number of smart flow meters are deployed, the need to maintenance each and every one regularly may not be desirable. Accordingly, the number of periodic readings and the frequency of the readings must be balanced with battery resources.